City Limits Magazine, March 1993 Issue

8/3/2019 City Limits Magazine, March 1993 Issue

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M arc h 1 99 3 N ew Y o rk 's C ommun ity A ffa irs N ews M a ga zin e $2

B A T T L IN G B U R E A U C R A C Y D F O O D F O R T H O U G H TS T O P P IN G H O M E L E S S N E S S B E F O R E IT S T A R T S

r o n x o nPlanners and Community Peop leSeek a Common V ision


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ei tv Limi tsVolume XVIU Number 3

City Limits is published ten times per year,monthly except bi-monthly issues in June/July an d August/September, by the City LimitsCommunity Information Service , Inc ., a nonprofit organization devoted to disseminatinginformation concerning neighborhoodrevitalization.SponsorsAssocia tion for Neighborhood an dHousing Development , Inc.New York Urban CoalitionPratt Institute Center for Community andEnvironmental DevelopmentUrban Homesteading Assistance BoardBoard of DirectorsEddie Bautista, NYLPIICharter RightsProjectBeverly Cheuvront, former City LimitsEditorErro l Louis , Cen tral Brooklyn PartnershipMary Martinez , Montefiore HospitalRebecca Reich , Turf CompaniesAndrew Reicher, UHABTom Robbins, JournalistJay Small, ANHDWalter Stafford, New York UniversityDoug Turetsky, former City Limits EditorPete Williams , Center for Law andSocial Justice

Affiliations for iden tifi cat ion only.Subscription ra tes are: fo r individuals andcommunity groups, $20/0ne Year, $30/TwoYears; for businesses, foundations, banks,government agencies and libraries, $35/0neYear,$50/Two Years. Low income, unem ployed,$10/0ne Year.City Limits welcomes comments and articlecontributions. Please include a stamped, selfaddressed envelope for return manuscri pts .Material in City Limits does not necessarilyreflect the opi n ion of the sponsor ing organizations. Send correspondence to: City Limits,40 Prince St., New York, NY 10012. Postmaster:Send address changes to City Limits ,40 PrinceSt., NYC 10012.

Second class postage paidNew York, NY 10001City Limits (ISSN 0199-0330)(212) 925-9820FAX (212) 966-3407Editor: Lisa Glaze rSenior Editor: Andrew WhiteAssociate Editor: Steve MitraContributing Editors: Peter Marcuse,Margaret MittelbachProduction: Chip CliffeAdvertising Representative: Faith WigginsOffice Assistant: Seymour GreenIntern: Beth GreenfieldPhotographers: F.M. Kearney, Suzanne TobiasCopyright 1993. All Rights Reserved. Noportion or portions of this journal may bereprinted without the express permission ofthe publishers.City Limits is indexed in the Alternative PressIndex an d the Avery Index to ArchitecturalPeriodicals and is avai lable on microfilm fromUniversityMi crofilms International,Ann Arbor ,MI48106 .

2 /MARCH 1993/CITY UMITS

Good N e w s ~ - F o r AChange

President Clinton's new economic package sends a clear message tothe American public: just like he said during the campaign, it'stime for a change. An d it looks like some of ha t change will benefitthe people and places he failed to mention during his campaign

specifically, cities and poor people. Put plainly, this is very good news.Among Clinton's proposals are full funding for the Head Start andWomen, Infants and Children programs,spending an extra $2.5 billion onCommunity Development Block Grants, boosting job training and apprenticeships , getting money out of Washington more quickly forpublic housing maintenance and creating a national community serviceprogram.Doing all this-and reducing the deficit- comes with a steep politicalprice tag: increasing taxes. We applaud Clinton for having the courage todemand more from America's wealthiest , and we hope that voices likeours will be heard among the howling and sniping that is already comingacross loud and clear in the tabloids and radio talk shows . Put plainlyonce again, Clinton is proposing a fairer distribution of wealth-not aredistribution of wealth-and it's long overdue.* * *

This is a special hello to those of you who are receiving City Limits forthe first time after signing up for a subscription through our recent directmail campaign. Welcome!An d to our regular readers who may have been overwhelmed orconfused by receiving one-or many-copies of our mailing, an explanation. Because we used a wide array of mailing lists from nonprofits , weweren't able to "merge and purge," which is direct mail lingo for takingout the names of current subscribers and names that occur more thanonce. If you still have the direct mail packet sitting on your desk, weencourage you to recycle it-offer it to a friend who should be reading CityLimits.The direct mail campaign was our largest ever and was made possibleby a grant from the Booth Ferris Foundation. We'll keep you updated onhow it turns out.* * *

Finally, news of some changes at City Limits. After four years herefirst as associate editor, then as editor, Lisa Glazer is leaving the magazineto move to Paris. Au revoir! Senior Editor Andrew White will become theeditor when she leaves. 0

Cover photograph by Steven Fish.


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SPECIAL REPORTIntroductionAn Ounce ofPrevention .. Stops Homelessness Before ItStarts 9The $207 SolutionHow thousands of families are being rescued fromeviction. 10The Waiting GameWith the waiting list at an all-time high, the rentalsubsidy program known as SectionEight is under severestrain. 13FEATUREDowntown Bronx, USACan planners and community people create a commonvision for the future of the South Bronx? 18DEPARTMENTSEditorialGood News-For A Change .....................................3BriefsBronx Indictments ................................................... 4Water Rate Relief .............................. ................ .. .... .4St. Albans Supermarket ........................................... 5ProfileFood for Thought .................... .......... .................. .... . 6PipelineGetting Their ACT Together .................................. 22CityviewPass the Pain Around! ................ .. .......... ............... 26ReviewPhoenix, or Dead Parrot? ....................................... 28Job Ads .. ........ .............. .. .... ................ ............. ............ 31

Food/Page 6

Waiting/Page 13

Downtown Bronx/Page 18

CITY UMITS/MARCH 1993/


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BRONX INDICTMENTSfive years after a Bronxcommunity group raised thealarm abOut wrongdoing fueledby a federally-chartered mortgage corporation, three landlords have been indicted for

fraud in a case brought by theDepartment of Justice.Earlier this year, RolandConde and Oscar Santangeloof Long Island were indicted foroverstating the rental income ofsix Bronx buildings by amountsbetween $40,000 and$365,0000, and ShimonEckstein of Brooklyn pled guiltyto mail fraud in connection withinflating the price of 16 buildings in Brooklyn, Manhattanand the Bronx in order to takeout high mortgages from thefederal Home Loan MortgageCorporation (freddie Mac) .

"I would hope this would bea lesson," says Myra Gogginsof the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition(NWBCCC), the group that hasmaintained for years thatfreddie Mac's lax oversightspurred rampant speculationand left tenants living in bodlymaintained buildings. "Justbecause you're dealing withpeople who are poor doesn'tmean landlords can get awaywith anything."But Jeff Hoffman, theattorney for Conde andSantangelo , says that all hisclients did was increase thefigures based on estimates offuture rental income afterimprovements. "It's done all thetime," he says. "This is apolitical indictment to iustify theincompetence of freddie Mac."Eckstein's attorney, AviMoskowitz, says only that hisclient "has an impeccablereFlutation" and that "he has notdefaulted on any of his loans."

Created by Congress in1970, freddie Mac, a private,for-profit, stockholder-heldcompany, buys mortgages heldby lenders, repackages themand sells them as securities. Ithas been hugely profitabledespite the current recession.In New York City, andparticularly in the Bronx,freddie Mac's large purchasesof mortgages often led to getrich-quick schemes as landlordsbought buildings at one price,4jMARCH 1993jCITY UMITS

obtained mortgages of muchhigher value after false assessments and little oversight, andthen sold the buildings, leavingnew owners saddled with moredebt than they could pay fromthe rents. This, in turn, led toneglect by landlords, accordingto NWBCCC. The practice alsoled to several defaults, causingfreddie Mac to lose money andleaving tenants in limbo. In1990, after investing $740million in hundreds of Bronxproperties, freddie Macstopped buying mortgages onapartment buildings.One year later, an investigation by the General AccountingOffice confirmed that freddieMac's "weak controls" led toover-assessment and fraud inseveral properties. But evennow, freddie Mac officialsdefend their agency's actions."You build in checks andbolances," says H. L. Vanvarick,a director at freddie Mac. "Butcan a company prevent fraud?N ".freddie Mac plans to startbuying apartment buildingmortgages again at the end ofthis year, and Vanvarick says itwill institute tighter controlssuch as checking purchaseprices and rental income datafrom public records.

Says Goggins: "If they'regoing to go back the right way,then that's fine. We've alwaysbeen saying that. But much ofwhat happened should never

have happened. It's directlytheir fault."If convicted, Conde andSantangelo each face a maximum of 40 years in prison anda $2 million fine; Eckstein facesa maximum of 5 ),ears in prisonand a $250,000 fine. 0 Steve

Mitra

WATER RATE RELIEFTemporary relief is on theway from Mayor Dinkins for lowincome buildings facing fiscalcollapse because of staggeringwater and sewer taxes. But apermanent solution to the watertax crisis is still far away.Last October, a City Limits

stud)' found that one of everyfour formerly city-ownedbuildings sold to communitygroups and low income tenantcooperatives was on the vergeof returning to city ownershipbecause of rapid increases inwater and sewer charges. Inmany cases, water bills soaredas much as 30 0 percent afterthe city installed water meters aspart of a conservation program.Thousands of privately-ownedproperties are also endangeredwith bank foreclosure becauseof the increases, according toother studies.A temporary plan recentlyreleased by the Dinkinsadministration offers two

immediate responses to thewater and sewer debt burdens.In buildings where the cityhas paid for major repairsthrough housing programs, thewater authority will refigure billsfrom 1986 through 1992 basedon a set fee per apartment,

instead of from water costscalculated by meters. Thedifference between the two willbe credited to buildings'accounts.One 40-unit, low incomecooperative on Creston Avenuein the Bronx had water andsewer bills totaling more than$40,000 in 1991 after the cityinstalled a meter. Under the newplan, the building will receive acredit for up to $25,000 forfuture water bills, according toJim Buckley of UniversityNeighborhood Housing .The Department of Environmental Protection estimates thatthe change will cost the cityabout $20 million dollars in theshort term. But it should preventbuildings from being seized bythe city for unpaid bills, at leastfor now.The other part of Dinkins'plan is to forgive "excessive"water bills where very highcharges were caused by majorleaks or other "extraordinaryevents." At press time, the twoparts of the plan were beingpresented to the Water Boord,which regulates water andsewer rates.Community groups are

Families in the NYC SheRer Systemand Where They Stay:!"i.fOS...!E:IZ

. 111 11 11~ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 .......-

--...."~ 5,0004,0003,0002,0001,000o ------/88 1189 1190 1191 1192 1193

Source: NYC Human Resources Administration .

Number of families ineach type of shelter, 1193: Private Rooms (Toe, 2'" 3,978

Donnitories CTler 1',' Hotelso OtherTotal Families:

o1,109407

5,494


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supportive of the changes. "Itwill be a huge relief to a lot ofbuildings," says Buckley.But he and others say theadministration is moving tooslowly to put together a longterm plan for cutting the cost ofwater and sewer services to lowincome residents. ''We'repredicting [the buildings) will goright back into the same situationunless they reduce the cost ofwater," sars Jesse Davidson, amember 0 the Northwest BronxCommunity and Clergy Coolition."It' s a catastrophe that'sunfolding," adds Frank Draconiof the Citizens Housing andPlanning Council. ''The administration has to address it. It's thatsimple."The outcry has reachedAlbany, where AssemblymanHoward Lasher of Brooklyn isdrafting a bill that would preventincreases in the New York Citywater rates for as much as twoyears while a new rate structureis worked out. ''We need time tostudy how to do this," saysLasher. "How do we preserve asystem to create conservation ofwater without destroying thehousing stock?"Deputy Mayor Barbora Fife,who heads a city task force onthe issue, says that a long termplan could include a billingsystem that would combine a setfee per aportment with aseparate fee for total water use.That way, one portion of abuilding's bill would depend onhow much water residents use ,and another would depend onhow large the building is.The current metering systemhas been criticized for discriminating against low incomebuildings because a ~ r t m e n t s inthese buildings are oftenovercrowded, pipes are old andleaky and more people arehome during the day-so watercosts are higher. Under the twopart billing scheme, the burdenon low income buildings wouldbe reduced. But, since part of thebill would still depend on howmuch water tenants use, therewould still be an incentive toconserve. Fife also says the citywill start a program to helpbuilding owners install toiletsthat use less water.Many people say theproposals don't go far enough.

Figltting Fire: Mo re than one thousand demonstrators recently marched across the Williamsburg Bridge toprotest the proposed Brooklyn Navy Yard incinerator. The protest was organized by the CommunityAlliance for the En vironment.

A coalition that includesbonkers, advocates andlandlords is proposing that thecity put a cap on the cost ofwater. The group, organized bythe Community PreservationCorporation, which financesrehabilitation work in lowincome buildings, also wants thegovernment to cover the cost ofreplacing old plumbing systemsin some low income buildings.While it would be expensive,they say it could save the citymoney in the long run byreducing water use.The rapid increases in waterand sewer rates were intendedto raise money for the city tomeet federal mandates. Hundreds of millions of dollars areneeded to build a new watertunnel, upgrade sewage treatment plants and create a newsystem for d isposing of sewagesludge. In addition , the citymay soan be required to installexpensive filtration equipmenton the upstate water supply. Tokeep the cost of these projectsdown, conservation is essential,says James Tripp of theEnvironmental Defense Fund ."Somehow there has to bethe message that water costsmoney," says Tripp, who wasrecently appointed to the WaterBoard. ' 'That's important to getacross without making lifemiserable for peaple economically." 0 Andrew White

ST. ALBANSSUPERMARKET

After three years of negotia tions, Path mark and the QueensCitizens Organization (QCO)are finalizing plans to set up anew supermarket that will bringcheaper food-and 250 jobsto the St. Albans neighborhood.''This is a community workingtogether and taking charge.Pathmark didn't come to us -we came to them," says Rev . EdDavis from the PresbyterianChurch of St. Albons, is one of45 Queens churches whosemembers belong to QCO .Harvey Gutman, a seniorvice president at SupermarketGeneral, which owns Path mark,agrees. ''They came to us acouple of years and asked us toopen up a supermarket there.We were very interested."To the peaple in the community, who have had to rely onsmall superettes or travel 30 to40 minutes to the nearest supermarket, the new Path markpromises higher quality andlower prices for groceries. AndGutman says the supermarketwill employ between 250 and300 peaple.A potential site for thesupermarket is a privatelyowned 16-acre lot at the cornerof Springfield and Merrickboulevards. However, Gutmansays the land is "very expen-

sive" and needs to be re-zonedso that it can be used forcommercial activity. ''We' relooking at a number of sites,"he says.Setting up a supermarket inNew York is extremely tough,explains Pamela Faircloughfrom the Supermarket Project ofthe Community Foad andResource Center. "It's verydifficult to identify a site withenough space to build asupermarket that has the rightzoning," she says, explainingthat many large sites, like theone in Queens, are zoned forindustrial rather than commercial use. Zoning can bechanged through the city's landuse review process-but it' s verexpensive and time-consum ing,she says.Gutman cautions that nofinal site selection has beenmade and it could be at leasttwo years before a supermarketopens.Pathmark has a long historyof working with communitygroups to bring supermarkets tounderserved areas . In 1979, thcompany went into a jointventure operation with theBedford-Stuyvesant RestorationCorporation to bring a supermarket to Central Brooklyn,and , in 1990, they set up astore in Newark with the NewCommunity Corporation. 0Beth Greenfield

CITY UMnS/MARCH 1993/


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By Lise Funderburg

Food for ThoughtPay $13, give two hours of community serviceand receive up to $35 worth of groceries.

In Ocean Hill-Brownsville's SchoolDistrict 23 offices, Deborah HarrisRichardson recently explained to adozen parents ho w they could become a part of SHARE-New York, aprogram that combines communityservice with discounts on food. Halfway through her presentation, HarrisRichardson interrupted herself. "Before I go any further," she said, "I justwant to make sure that everyone hereis qualified to participate." Two women whoha d been whisperingstopped abruptly, theirattention caught by theserious tone of her voice."Everyone who eats,"Harris-Richardson continued, "raise yourhand."

directly to growers and manufacturers, eliminating middlemen. Tofurther reduce overhead, SHARE-NYemploys only five staff members,relying on participants to pick up thefood from its warehouse during two"Distribution Days" each month.Essentially, SHARE is responsible forgetting food to the warehouse; the restis up to its members.This task is simplified by the assis-

in Harlem's James McCune SmithCommunity School. She started a hostgroup in September 1992 that noworders up to 58 food packages a month.She says the benefits go beyond food."Parents, teachers, staff-and communitymembers all participate," she says."It has nothing to do with the amountof money you make. What's reallypositive is that it has forced thecommunity and the school to share anidea. I have seen more parent andcommunity involvement since thisstarted, because this gets peoplecoming into the school."Service an d ConversationHer group, managed primarily byProject Return parents, encouragespeople to do their community service as classroom helpers, hall monitors, or at SHARE bagging days. One of thoseparents is April Wanton,who has been involvedsince last October. Mostrecently, she has volunteered by making up flyers, and she's also goneto the Bronxdale warehouse to help repackagefood for distribution.The last time, sheworked with 50-pound

SHARE is an acronymfor Self Help an d Resource Exchange, a private nonprofit organization that provides discounted groceries to11,000 households inthe New York area eachmonth. The requirements for participationare straightforward: pa y$13 and give two hoursof service to your community . In exchange,

Distribution Central: The staffof SHARE-New York in their Bronx warehouse.From left, Margie Oasio-Erazo, Shannel Myers, Doug Shulman, Joey Monfredand Deborah Harris-Richardson .

bags of potatoes, weighing ou t smaller portionsan d re-bagging them into

::;E the red mesh bags thatu: SHARE buys by th egross. "When you firstwalk in there and see 50

you'll get a package of food with aretail value of$30 to $35. Communityservice is broadly defined an d caninclude bagging food in SHARE'sBronxdale warehouse, tutoring in alocal school, or fixing a neighbor'scar. And people who already volunteer can apply that time to SHARE'srequirements.500,000 People NationwideA Catholic deacon started the firstSHARE in San Diego in 1983; it expanded to New York in 1985 whenone of its participants moved herean d started up an affiliate. Otherwiseindependent, SHARE-NY cooperateswith other SHARE groups across thecountry to purchase food. The combinedbuyingpower of 500,000 peoplenationwide helps keep costs down; italso allows the organization to goa/MARCH 1993/CITY UMITS

tance of some 250 groups that serve ashost organizations. The host groupsoperate as satellite arms for SHARE,bringing hundreds of food packagesback to members in their communities.Many of the host groups developedout of established networks: churchgroups, tenant associations or seniorcenters. Others formed specifical ly tojoin the program.Staff members from SHARE trainfive or six people from eachhost groupin food handling, accounting an d fooddistribution. The result is that eachhost operates independently, monitoring the payments an d communityservice ofits members an d orchestrating distribution from SHARE's warehouse to individuals.Saundria Simmons-Waddell is theeducation case manager for ProjectReturn, a program for teenage parents

or 100 people you don'tknow, you get kind ofnervous," Wanton says. "But then it's really fun because you meet people, everybody'shaving a conversation about differenttopics. Everybody's getting intoeverybody's conversation."Wanton shops for a family of fiveeach month an d says the two packagesof food she regularly orders accountfor about a quarter of her monthlyneeds. "The food is absolutely great,"she says. "It's just like i f you went tothe supermarket. This month we gotchicken legs and they were no measlylittle legs, either."Fredrica Lowe likes the food, too."The merchandise is superior," saysLowe, food service director for AgingAmerica, a senior center in the Bronx.She launched a host group in July,1992 and no w turns in 30 to 40 foodorders each month. Both senior


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citizens and staffhave signed on, manychoosing to do their communityservice at nearby hospitals and atSHARE. Lowe has also worked at thewarehouse on bagging days and saysthe staff members there are professional and courteous, the packagesnutritionally well-balanced, and theproduce fresh. "And that young manwho runs it," she says, "is marvelous."That young man is Doug Shulman,the 25-year-old executive director whohas been with SHARE for a year. Hemanages a$2.5 million annual budget,90 percent of which comes fromprogram fees, 10 percent from privatedonors and foundations. Before hecame to SHARE, Shulman helpedfound Teach For America, a domesticeducation program modelled on thePeace Corps . "SHARE does twothings," he explains. "It meets a basicneed-food-and it gets people working together." Both components areessential to the program, Shulmanexplains, and host groups looking fora cheap food deal don't tend to thriveas much as those who capitalize onthe community service opportunity."The food is really just the carrot toget people involved. What we're reallyabout is building community."Shulman has spent most of thisyear building SHARE-NY. The firstorder of business was upgrading foodstorage facilities. These expandedfrom two loading docks to 10, an dShulman replaced eight refrigeratedtrailers parked on the street with 3 000square feet of permanent refrigerationand 1,600 square feet of freezer spaceadjacent to the warehouse floor. Fourthousand people have joined sincelast August, an d Shulman hopes toget to 15,000 by next fall, then toincrease membership by 5,000 a year.As SHARE-NY expands, the organization contends with some recurringobstacles. "First of all, we meet with alot of skepticism," Shulman says."People don't believe a deal this goodis real. Second , we have to clarify thatthis is not government surplus an d isno t a handout ." Although SHARE-NYjust began accepting food stamps,Shulman says a substantial segmentof its members are middle class an dworking poor people who don't wantfood that has the stigma of charity orfederal programs.Another issue is transportation. "InMilwaukee, everyone has a van or acar," he says. "That's not true in NewYork." SHARE will arrange truckingto host sites for an additional dollar

per package, which Shulman says doesnot cover its actual cost. As an incentive, SHARE offers free trucking tohost groups that order 350 or morepackages a month.Strawberries, Chicken, BeansShulman says that even he wasinitially surprised by the quality andquantity of the food. As a self-policingmeasure, staff members will go tosupermarkets th e day after eachmonth's distribution day, checkingretail prices against that month's foodpackage. The retail cost for January1993's food was $33.98.The food varies from month tomonth, bu t each package alwayscontains six to 12 pounds of meat;three to four types of fruit such asapples, oranges an d strawberries; fiveto eight vegetables; and two to threedry goods such as pasta, beans an dgrains. SHARE-NY selects from a

shopping menu each month suppliedby the national buyinggroup. Producis seasonal, an d meats (always frozendepend on the best buys availablealthough there is always some chickenNo one person can make speciarequests, bu t an entire group can electo be no-pork or no-beef. To accommodate vegetarians and picky eaterssome host groups set up trading tableat their distribution sites so that, foexample, a person who doesn't likfish sticks might strike a deal withsomeone who doesn't like grapes.Shulman has conducted membesurveys and consulted nutritionistsbu t the selection process continues toevolve and still has a few glitches. Arecent SHARE-NY package containedthree pounds ofrutubagas. Who wouldeven know what to do with those"No one," Shulman says, with a wryContinued on page 8

An Organizing Perspective on Issuesand Actions In Communities of Color.Bimonthly news and analysisfrom the frontiers of grassroots political activity.

Hot topics. Professional writers. Incisive commentary.Subscriptions: $22 regular/$10 student, low income, union andcommunity group members/$55 institutions.

Cal or write for a ree to:nn Force,l2l8 East 21stSt, OakIaId, CA 94606. (510) 533-1583.& r n [ 1 ~ ~ @QD@: [?@Mg O ~ @ C J SUPPORT SERVICES FOR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONSWriting 0 Reports 0 Proposals 0 Newsletters 0 Manuals 0 ProgramDescription and Justification 0 Procedures 0 Training MaterialsResearch and Evaluation 0 Needs Assessment 0 Project Monitoring andDocumentation 0 Census/Demographics 0 Project and PerformanceEvaluationPlanning and Development 0 Projects and Organizations 0 Budgetso Management 0 Procedures and SystemsCall or write Sue Fox

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(212) 222-9946

CITY UMITS/MARCH 1993/


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Continued from page 7.smile.

NYC DEPARTMENT OF HOUSINGPRESERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

As host development manager, DebHarris-Richardson spends most of hertime spreading the word. As sheaddressed the District 23 parents, shepointedout that successful host groupssometimes have to nurture community-wide attitude adjustment. "Manyof us urban folks think communityservice is something suburban or richto do ," she said, "and it's not. " Oncepeople appreciate the benefits ofcontributingto their communities, shecontinued, then SHARE-NY ca nexpand with a vengeance. Her enthusiasm for the program is about morethan earning her paycheck: althoughshe's been on staff only six months,she's been a member for the last fiveyears. "Afterall,"shefinished, "we're11,000 families right now, bu t thereare 10 million people in this city.We're looking to move beyond thestatus of being the best-kept secret inNew York." 0

Dawn Naidu-Walton100 Gold Street, Room 9-W1New York, NY 10038HPD is an Equal Opportunit y Employer.The Department encourages minority and women applicants.DA VID N. DINKINS, MAYORFelice L. Michetti, Commissioner For information on SHARE-NY, call718-518-1513.

Lise Funderburg is a freelance writerbased in Brooklyn.

NfWYOIlKI' fU" Of1'101'"WHO DISIIlVI A &OJ'MO.C.D.rrHAII rHIY'VI811NGlrrlNG.From the spectacular sights of the circus tothe ar t of dancing to the skill of building affordablehousing. New Yorkers are always striving for aprosperous, healthy community.And through our CitiBuilders SM program, we 'dlike to give New Yorkers credit for doing what theydo. And the credit they need to do it.Whether it's for small businesses, communitydevelopment, affordable housing projects or notfor-profit organizations, a CitiBuilders loan canhelp you grow.

1990 Citibank. N.A.a/MARCH 1993/CITY UMITS

Offered only through Citibank's EconomicDevelopment Banking Center; our CitiBuildersprogram gives local communities the same accessto financial services that big business expects.And our resources and financial expertisehelp communities grow in a variety of ways. Witha variety of services at affordable rates and terms.So give us a call today at (718) 248-8900.Because it's a lot easier to grow and thrivein your community when you're getting l...:.lthe credit you deserve. r r ' ~ , , & u ~

cmBAN


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An Ounce of Prevention...Stops Homelessness Before it StartsThe following two articles show how rental subsidies from the government canrescue families from eviction, reduce human misery-and save the governmentmillions of dollars in payments to welfare hotels and shelters.

The first article, "The $207 Solution", details how a Legal Aid Society lawsuit isforcing the state to increase the amount of rent money for people on welfare who arethreatened with eviction. A state judge is still deciding the final outcome of the case,but thanks to a preliminary ruling, 5,375 families have been spared a stay in theshelters.

At the moment, a family of four on welfare gets a pitiful $312 a month for ren t -barely enough to pay for a studio apartment. And that payment has remained the samesince 1984. Legal Aid's lawsuit is forcing the state to pay an average of $207 a monthmore in rent money for families facing eviction. That's at least 10 times cheaper thanthe cost of housing a family in a homeless shelter for the same amount of time.

Our other article, "The Waiting Game", chronicles the plight ofthe federal SectionEight rent subsidy program. Funded by the federal government, administered by thecity's housing authority and used by more than 60,000 city households, the programis under severe strain.With 127,000 families, the Section Eight waiting list is longer than ever, meaningmost eligible people wait years before getting assistance. In many cases, families haveto lose their home and go into a shelter before they even get a chance at Section Eight.

But even with these problems, the program can prevent homelessness and is a keycomponent of the nation's affordable housing strategy.Both programs help only a fraction of the city's poorly-housed people, and anymajor expansion will be costly. But that may be what it takes to keep families fromeviction-and out of the homeless shelters.

CITY UMITS/MARCH 1993


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oU IonHow more than 5,000 families have been rescued from eviction andhomelessness-for a fraction of the cost of welfare hotels and shelters.

BY STEVE MITRA

O any normal day, hundreds of harried peoplelinger in the dingy corridors of Bronx housingcourt. Tenants anxiously explain why they'rebehind on the rent-again. Landlordsmill around

with furrowed brows, barely concealing theirfury. Lawyers flip through court papers, pull at theirjackets, open and shut briefcases. It's a scene of overcrowded chaos.Mercedes Rivero steers her client, a woman in her early30s, through the confusion an d towards her landlord, whois sitting on a wooden table, frowning. Rivero is anemployee of the Citizens Advice Bureau; her client is awoman on welfare faced with eviction.Today the woman is nervous, constantly tugging atRivero's arm, explaining that there's no way she can affordthe $100 a month rent hike that went into effect more thana year ago after the landlord upgraded her windows androof."She owes $1,900," ins ists the landlord's lawyer."We need it stipulated that it's part of the back rent,"says Rivero."And ..?" asks the landlord's lawyer.Rivero releases her trump card. "We'll get it throughJiggetts," she says .Suddenly everyone is all smiles.Even the landlord, silent an d sullen until then, saysreluctantly, "Okay, if Jiggetts will pay for it, then it's cool."In a matter of minutes,

less. And it has the potential of dramatically decreasimgthe city's reliance on shelters an d welfare hotels in thecoming years.The payments made to date are known as "Jiggettsrelief" because they 're the result of a preliminary ruling inthe lawsuit, which was brought against the state by theLegal Aid Society on behalf of a welfare mother namedBarbara Jiggetts.It's unclear when a final decision will be handed downby State Supreme Court Judge Karla Moskowitz, bu t in themeantime, the consequences of her preliminary ruling arerippling throughout the city.More than 500 families each month are getting the"shelter allowance" portion of their welfare paymentincreased by an average of $207 to stave off eviction. Andfamilies are getting the rent money with relative easebecause community-based organizations-not justlawyers-can advocate for them in court, sometimesbringing in the extra rent money within three weeks."The whole picture has changed since Jiggetts," saysChet Randall from the City-Wide Task Force on HousingCourt. "The question no longer is 'Where is the rent goingto come from?' Now, it's 'When is the rent going to come?'"Nonetheless, there are drawbacks. Some housingadvocates say that once landlords start gettingthe increasedrent money, which comes to them directly from thegovernment, their incentive to make repairs is reducedbecause tenants can 't withhold rent. Others note that theJiggetts money only helps families, ignoring the plight ofsingle individuals andanother family has beensaved from homelessness bystopping the problembeforeit begins-thanks to Jiggetts.

Monthly WeHare Payments: Enough for whom?couples without children.Most of all, they cautionagainst too much enthusiasm for the temporaryresults of a lawsuit thathasn't been decided yet."J ggetts" is shorthandfor Jiggetts vs. Bane, alittle-known lawsuitthat has come to the rescueof5,375 tenants since it wasfiled in 1987. By forcing thestate to increase the amountof rent money provided forpeople on welfare who areon the brink of eviction, ithas prevented many families from becoming home-

10jMARCH 1993jCITY UMITS

For afamily of ...OneTwoThreeFourFiveSixSevenEight

1berentallowance is ...$215$250$286$312$337$349$403$421

Food and otherallowances are ...$137$218$291$375$464$535$610$682

All figures are rounded of f to th e nearest dollar.Source: Human Resources Administration

TotalPayments$352$469$577$688$801$884$1013$1183

Officials for the state'sDivision of Social Servicesrefuse to comment on thecase, citing pendinglitigation. Bu t i f theirlawyers win-and theJiggetts advocates losethose 5,375 families couldbe right back on the brink ofhomelessness, and thousands more will lose theirchances of avoiding eviction.


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Safety Net: Th! Jiggetts lawsui t challenges the state to increase the welfare rent allowance. For about $200 extra a month, this family may haveavoided a stay in the homeless shelters. Instead, they spent a recent night in the Manhattan Emergency Assistanc e Unit.

In the past decade, academics, politicians, pundits andordinary people have come up with an array of explanations for the explosion of homelessness in America: therelease of he mentally ill from institutions, tough economictimes, the impact of crack cocaine, jobles ness,gentrification, the government's withdrawal fro theaffordable housing business, just to name a few.Butin New York and across the country, there's asimpler explanation that covers a large percenhomeless families. Many people who become ho elessare on welfare. And the shelter allowance that ' elfareprovides for rent is a pittance: in New York, it's abo t $300a month for a family of four.Make that just $286 a month for Zulma Robleyear-old mother who is raising her daughter and soMorris Heights section of the Bronx. She wasevicted after her roommate moved out an d she ccover the $525 a month rent on her two-bedroom ap ent.Jiggetts relief has covered the balance of her re t sincelast September. Without it, she says, "I would ha e beenevicted. I don't know where I would have gone."Lawyers for the state's Department of Social S .rvicesare fighting the Jiggetts lawsuit by arguing that the elfarerent allowance is adequate. But welfare advoca s disagree."No one will tell you with a straight face that this isenough," says Liz Krueger, the associate directo of theCommunity Food Resource Center. "It's a joke."Statistics back her up-the latest data from the censusbureau's 1991 Housing an d Vacancy Survey sho s thatthe median rent in New York City is $509. Rese rchersfound that the number of apartments renting for I ss than

$300 a month has dropped by more than half since 1984yet shelter allowances have remained fixed since thenFor many families, getting by on welfare means scrimpinon food, clothes and telephone bills to pay the rent. Busometimes even this isn't sufficient."Over the years, the rents have been creeping up ansome families just can't deal with it any more," sayJacqueline Pitts, the coordinator of the eviction prevention program at the Community Service Society.Jiggetts relief answers these problems by paying for renincreases up to a limit of about double the shelter allowance. It also pays all the back rent that tenants accumulateBut tacked on to these payments are several conditionsOnly families with children are eligible, and then onlyall other efforts to prevent eviction have been exhaustean d the state deems the rent "reasonable." Finally, Jiggetrelief can be applied for only after the landlord threatento evict the family. I f all these conditions are met, welfaradvocates from community-based organizations, olawyers, can apply for Jiggetts relief with the stateDepartment of Social Services.There are currently about a dozen community-basegroups that can file for families; five of hem, including thCitizens Advice Bureau in the Bronx, have special evictioprevention units funded by the city's Human ResourceAdministration."We're finding that we really need to keep people itheir homes ...We're really trying to prevent people fromgoing to a shelter," says Mary Nakashian, who helpoversee the city's eviction prevention programs for thHuman Resources Administration (HRA).Simple economics underscore the support for Jiggett

CITY UMRS/MARCH 1993/1


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The average rent increase given to a family under theprogram is $207 pe r month, according to Pat Smith , anHRA official. Had the same family been evicted an dsought space in a city homeless shelter, that money wouldcover their costs for only three days . And an entire monthin a shelter can run as high as $3 ,000 . In a welfare hotel,the price tag is at least $2 ,25 0 . The difference adds up toa potential savings for government of between $24,000and $3 3 ,600 per family over a year 's time.On the other hand, if the Legal Aid lawyers wi n theJiggetts case, the state might have to spend tens of mill onsof dollars more each month on higher shelter allowancesin New York City.

The case that has brought relief to so many has a longand convoluted history . It was brought by the LegalAid Society on behalf of Barbara Jiggetts, a Queensmother on welfare whose shelter allowance didn't coverher rent , an d others in similar situations .The lawsuit charges that the welfare rent payment se tby the state is "illegally inadequate" an d bases this argument on a state socialservices law that mandates that welfare be"adequate to enable thefather , mother or otherrelative to bring up thechild properly."

Haim Deutsch at Citizens Advice Bureau is one of thosepeople. When he set up his eviction prevention officeearly in 1992, he saw Jiggetts as an unusual new tool tohelp families in trouble. It quickly became the single mostimportant component of his work. "Now I spend 80percent of my time applying for Jiggetts ," he says.

A ross the city, many people are waiting anxiously fora final decision in the Jiggetts case from Moskowitz,who will rule on whether or not the current level ofshelter allowance is adequate. At this point, it's not knownwhen this will happen and calls to her office were notreturned. The groups hoping for a favorable ruling includesome unusual allies: housing advocates, city officials,tenants an d even landlords. As John Gilbert from the RentStabilization Association says, "It is essential-if we'regoing to hang on to housing , if we 're going to allowupgrading an d maintenance-that the shelter allowancebe increased."But such wholehearted support leaves some feelinguneasy. The clearest cause for concern is what will happento tenants who now haveJiggetts relief if the caseloses. Another point ofcontention is thatJiggetts shouldn't beseen as a cure-all because it doesn't solveproblems like poor repairs an d maintenanceof apartment buildings.Many advocates admit this is a problem.They note that Jiggetts

gives landlords an infusion of cash without anyincentive to fix problemsin the buildings-andtenants have no way ofwithholding rent pay-

State Supreme CourtJustice Karla Moskowi zfirst heard the case in1987 , quickly making apreliminary ruling thatthe state would have toincrease the shelterallowance for people onwelfare who were threatened with eviction. Thestate appealed to ahighercourt,which overturnedMoskowitz's ruling.But it wasn 't over yet.This time , the Legal AidSociety appealed to the

~ _ ~ ......... .L--_____ ....J'" ments because they'reQuick Relief: Community-based organizations like the Citizens Advice Bureau sent directly from the(CAB) can get Jiggetts relief rent payments in as little as three weeks. HaimDeutsch from CAB says Jiggetts work takes up 80 percent of his time. government to the land-lord. "W e can't stopJiggetts [payments], so the landlords never satisfy therepair parts of the stipulation," says Annette Averette ofthe Lower East Side Anti-Displacement Projects.

state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, which broughtthe case back to life in 1990. That same year, welfarefamilies started getting rental assistance over an d abovetheir shelter allowance from the state.Still, at that point, families could obtain Jiggetts reliefonly with assistance from a lawyer. That changed inDecember, 1991 when Moskowitz ruled that communitybased organizations trained by the Legal Aid Societycould also help tenants apply . This greatly expanded theuse of Jiggetts relief since very few tenants have legalrepresentation against landlords in housing court."This is a very ne w model, " says Chris Lamb from theLegal Aid Society. "Before this, a lot of families would bewaiting in line for a Legal Aid attorney, getting themmuch later, an d reducing their chances of preventingeviction."Matthew Diller, also of Legal Aid, adds, "We've alreadyha d a substantial impact. We continue to train more an dmore people" on how to apply for Jiggetts relief.12/MARCH 1993/CITY UMITS

Others point out that Jiggetts doesn't help the peoplewho are currently homeless. "You have to be in an apartment to be eligible for Jiggetts," says Lauren Steinfeld, asocial worker for the Coalition for the Homeless, addingthat it also doesn't help families without children, orsingle people. "While the idea of increasing the shelterallowance is excellent, the way it is now, it leaves ou t awhole lot of people ."Still, others note that even with these flaws, Jiggetts isone of the city's best chances to truly reduce homelessness. As Professor Emmanuel Tobier from New YorkUniversity 's School of Public Service says, a favorableoutcome will have "a big impact on homelessness .""Homeless programs haven't really worked becausemarket rents are too high, " he adds. "This would givefamilies more buying power. Money always helps." 0


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al In arneThe Section Eight rent subsidy program is under severe strainfrom increasing homelessness and poverty.

BY ELAINE IANDOLl

It' s been more than two years since Cheree Simmonsapplied for a rental subsidy from the New York CityHousin Authority. Shortly before Christmas, the 24-y e a r - o l ~ mother ofthree called the agency, hoping tohear some good news. Instead, she was told i t wouldbe another three years before her name reached the top ofthe waiting list for the federally-funded rental subsidyprogram known as Section Eight.Now, Cheree and her children, as well as her sister andher children-eight people in all-are perilously close tobeing evicted from their sparsely-furnished, two-bedroom apartment in Jamaica, Queens. Their welfare checksan d food stamps simply cannot cover their $750-a-monthrent.Simmons' situation is far from unusual-but may become even more common because Congress slashed thefederal allocation for new Section Eight subsidies nation-

wide from $1.7 billion last year to $1.2 billion for thcurrent year. The cu t is just the latest strain on a prograthat's under severe pressure from rollercoaster fundinchanges combined with increasing homelessness, joblesness and poverty.There are 61,061 families in New York City who papart of their rent through the program, but the waiting lihas reached an all-time high of more than twice thanumber-127,000. That's a major increase since 1990when the waiting list had just SO,OOO families. As a resultens of thousands of people like Cheree Simmons spenyears in inadequate housing, doubled or tripled up, waiing for rental assistance.And while the overall need for Section Eight is climbing, the number of new subsidies available for people othe general waiting list is shrinking. That's because mansubsidies are now being directed to people with needabove and beyond simple poverty. More than one-fifth othe 7,S91 people who were housed with Section Eight la

CITY UMITS/MARCH 1993/1


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year were from homeless shelters, and new programs willdirect some Section Eight assistance toward disabledveterans an d families in danger of splitting apart becauseof their housing problems.The program is so overloaded that the New York CityHousing Authority, which administers Section Eight forthe federal government, is currently not interviewing newapplicants for the program. "It's like a choke," explainshousing authority spokesperson Jeanne Nathan. Fromtime to time, she says, "interviews aresometimes slowed down-or stopped

ment of Housing an d Urban Development offers an explanation for the dilemma. "People in Washington want alarge percentage to go to the homeless," he says. "It meansthe homeless have a better chance. They were not takencare of before. We never funded homeless programs in theway we should have."The wait for some families on the general waiting listmay become even longer as the result of new programsHUD has designed. Recent regulat ions from HUD encourage the housing authority to givevouchers to homeless veterans withaltogether." She adds that part of theproblem is insuf ficient staffing to copewith the number of applicants-butthat new staff will be hired soon.Alternative to Public HousingThe Section Eight program was created in 1974, in the wake of widelypublicized scandals about the failureof federal housing programs. Withhigh-rise public housing excoriated as

The waiting listhas reached anall-time high of

substance abuse or psychiatric prob-lems. Another soon-to-be-institutedprogram will gi ve cert ificates to families who have broken up or who maybreak up because of poor housing.But housing authority officials inNew York insist that Section Eight isstill targeted toward the general popu-1ation. "There are people who comeinto the program in a different way127,000 families.a disaster, an d contractor fraud mak-ing the front pages of the nation's newspapers, PresidentRichard Nixon passed a moratorium on all programs ru nby the Department of Housing and Urban Development(HUD).But people still needed affordable housing , an d SectionEight was introduced to fill the need. In its early days theprogram subsidized rents in entire buildings put up byprivate developers (See City Limits, January 1993), but itsoon changed to the system that remains in place today.Rent subsidies now go to an individual or a family, an d it'sup to them to find an apartment that meets federal qualitystandards.The subsidies are handed out in two different formscertificates and vouchers. The certificates enable a familyto find an apartment anywhere in the city that meets rentguidelines and passes a government inspection; recipients pay 30 percent of their income for rent, and thegovernment pays the rest. Vouchers are slightly moreflexible-they enable people to find a more expensiveapartment, bu t the amount of the rent subsidy remainsfixed, so tenants often end up paying more than 30 percentof their income for rent.In recent years, the federal government has requiredhousing authorities across the country to give preferencefor the subsidies to specific groups of people, like thehomeless. Since March 1989, more than 4,000 certificatesan d vouchers have been given to the homeless in NewYork City.

The changes in the program trouble some affordablehousing advocates. "The Section Eight program is beingseized upon by the government" as a solution to theproblem ofhousing the homeless, explains ScottRosenberg,assistant director of litigation for the Legal Aid Society. Hesays the practice may be justified, bu t it has a societal cost,pitting low income people against each other "for a poolof scarce resources.""The homeless need a lot of help-but they're not theonly ones," adds Yolanda Rivera from the Banana KellyCommunity Improvement Association. "There are peoplewho are struggling an d are doubled up in other apartmentswho need help just as much."Steven Savarese from the regional office of the Depart-14/MARCH 1993/CITY UMITS

than others," says Nathan, bu t "by nomeans are there only special needspeople getting apartments."Still, community advocates say the program has nearlyground to a halt for applicants on the general waiting list.As Toni Dosik, the former director of the Gateway Community Restoration group in Queens puts it, Section Eight"was never a great solution bu t it was the only solutionpeople had. It moved like molasses, bu t it moved. Now ithas just stopped."

Funding Peaks and TroughsNationwide, the funding for Section Eight vouchersan d certificates has resembled a rollercoaster since theearly 1980s. In 1981, for example, there were 83,000certificates available to public housing authorities. Thefollowing year, the Reagan administration gutted theprogram, and the number of new certificates dropped to23,418. After 1984, when vouchers were introduced, thenumber of ne w subsidies hovered between 50,000 and75,000, dropping sharply last year to about 41,000.Despite some high points during these years, RichardWest from the National Low Income Housing Coalitionnotes that the program has never returned to its 1981levels. In addition, he says, "all this has to be in the contextof he gutting ofotherprograms. With all the other programsgutted and these being cut, [what remains] is significantlyless."But HUD's Savarese defends the outlays. "We haveliterally billions of dollars given to the New York CityHousing Authority," Savarese says. "The question is: howmuch is enough?"While no one denies that Section Eight has enabledthousands of families to find affordable housing in NewYork City, there is also little argument among housingadvocates that problems limit the program's effecti veness.Even when families on the waiting list do get a voucher orcertificate, they face often-unsurmountable barriers ifthey don't already have a place to live. These problemsinclude the short time frame that people have to find anapartment after they receive a certificate or voucher, thehigh cost of housing in New York City and the SectionEight inspection process.Flerida Ramirez, a proud, independent 78-year-old,


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Opportunity lost: Flerida Ramirez (left) lives with three relatives in a cramped, one-bedroom apartment because her new Section Eight certificathad to be returned to the city before she could move into a renovated apartment.

provides a classic example of ho w Section Eight's fourmonth time limit for finding an apartment can backfire.Ramirez currently lives in a cramped one-bedroomapartment in Flushing with her 76-year-old sister, herniece and her nine-year-old grandnephew. Last year, shewas chosen in a lottery to become a tenant in a buildingbeing rehabilitated by a Harlemcommunity group. But her four

"There's not enough affordable housing within thSection Eight maximum fair market rent levels that is idecent enough condition," says Victor Bach, a housinexpert from the Community Service Society.Harold Sole, who runs the Section Eight program at thhousing authority, says HUD is "playing with the idea" oleaving it up to local housing authorities to extend the time limimonth search time expired beforethe rehabilitation was completeand she lost her chance, despite pleasfrom her social worker an d theEcumenical Community Development Organization (ECDO)."Basically, they just said,'Tough,'" says Katie Hanner, ECDO'sdirector of housing development."Because she didn't have SectionEight [when the building was completedl, we couldn't accept her. She

"Section Eightmoved like molassesbut it moved. Now ithas just stopped."

Still, he adds, "If a family'S going tfind an apartment they usually do within four months." While extrtime may help 'some families, hsays, it has a clear drawback: thlonger one family has to find aapartment, the longer another family must stay on the waiting list.Tenants Take the Fall

really was caught in the middle.There was nothing she could do.""It's repeatedly happening," adds Gilbert Sanchez, atechnical housing coordinator with the Wilson M. MorrisCommunity Center. "I ha d about 10 people last year withthe same circumstances."One of the main reasons that four months is often notenough time to find an apartment is the high cost ofhousing in New York. Guidelines for Section Eight certificates state that a three-bedroom apartment can'tcost morethan $854 a month, including gas and electricity, an d themaximum amount for a two-bedroom apartment is $681.

Even when an apartment can bfound, it may not pass a standargovernment inspection required bfederal law. In these cases, apartments can't be renteuntil the landlord makes repairs. If a tenant is already ian apartment that doesn't pass the inspection, the housinauthority will stop paying the subsidy. "The tenant takethe fall," says Lorraine Liriano, a caseworker at the ForeHills Community House in Queens. "It can becomedifficult situation."Housing advocates also note that some landlords refusto participate in the program because they don't want tget involved with the housing authority, while othersimply don't want to accept poor, minority tenants.CITY UMITS/MARCH 1993/1


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Getting BetterDespite these problems, Sole says Section Eight is operatingwell and "getting better all the time."In 1991, he says,10,400 ne w familiescame into the programusing ne w subsidiesor subsidies turnedover from tenants whoha d died or no longerneeded them. However, the number fellto 7 ,800 last year, andhousing authority officials are unable toexplain the reason forthe drop.Asked about theturnback rate-thosethat have to return

Many advocatessay the programcould be reformed ifthe authority communicated moreopenly with community groups andtheir clients whostruggle with th ecomplexities of Section Eight. They alsosuggest creating aclearinghouse to linklandlords an d prospective tenants.Housing authority official'S are not enthusiastic about theseideas. Still, there's atleast one pointof veryclear consensus.rying Again: Staffers at the Forest Hills Communit y House hel p tenants like ChereeSimmons get rent assistance-when it's available. As Nathan says,"The federal provision for Section Eight must go up!"heir certificates or vouchers because they could not findan apartment within four months-Sole prefers to stressthe positive."So far, the success rate is in the low 60 percent range,"he says. "Sixty-two or 63 percent is terrific. It's better thanwhat we had in the past. There was atime it was as low as 29 percent."Yet the success rate can be deceiv-

Four to a RoomMeanwhile, Cheree Simmons and her sister, MonicaAlston, continue to wait. "We have to stretch it," Simmonssays. She sleeps with her three children in one small bedroom whileing, because it includes families thatalready have a decent place to livewhen they first get rental assistance.Those families simply use the subsidy to stay in their current homes. Inpast interviews with City Limits, Solehas conceded that people who haveto find a new apartment that passes agovernment inspection have muchlower success rates, bu t the housingauthority keeps no statistics on thatgroup alone. In any case, even a 63percent success rate means approximately one in three families do notfind housing through the program.

One in three familieshas to return their

Section Eight vouchersand certificateswithout finding an

apartment.

Alston and her kids sleep in another. For several months, anothersister an d her three children slepton the floor in the unfurnished living room.Liriano, who is working with thefamily, says that if the sisters' landlord moves to evict them, she willapply for a court-ordered increasein the families' welfare rent allowance (see "The $207 Solution" onpage 10). That way, they can at leaststay where they are."I'm not taking my kids in a shelter," Simmons says firmly. Sheshrugs sadly at the thought of having to move out i f all else fails.oreover, the expanded use ofSection Eight for housing the homeless boosts the successrate, because the city offers thousands of dollars in incentives to landlords who accept families from the sheltersystem in addition to the rent subsidies-an offer that'shard to refuse in tough economic times.

"Some people are lucky and some people are not," shesays. "Right no w I'm trying my best. " 0Elaine Iandoli is a freelance writer who specializes inhousing issues.

To advertise in City Limits, call Faith Wigginsat (212) 925-9820.

16jMARCH 1993/CITY UMITS


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Housing Department Slow to Issue ChecksH

riberto Penn knows the folly of believing thepromise that "the check is in the mail." For himan d other managers of low income cooperatives,the promise is often broken, especially when itcomes to payment of he Section Eight housing subsidy.In Penn's case, he is waiting for about $3,000 fromthe city's Department of Housing Preservation andDevelopment (HPD). The check represents a large chunkof the rent for three tenants in his 29-unit building onWest 156th Street in Harlem. The tenants are in theSection Eight program and are meant to receive rentsubsidies from the federal government through HPD.But as of early February, Penn still hadn't received thesubsidy checks-even hough the tenants were approvedfor Section Eight in November."I haven't received a penny from Section Eight," hesays, adding that he was recently advised that it may beanother three months before he sees the money.The long wait for Section Eight payments is acommoncomplaint oflandlords andbuildingmanagers. In dozensof interviews, they say they often wait months beforethey see any money from HPD, and the delays seriouslythreaten the tenuous budgets of some communitybased housing management organizations and tenantowned cooperatives.HPD administers only a small portion of the federalSection Eight program in New York, largely in conjunction with rehabilitation projects funded by the city.HPD's part of the program is independent of the NewYork City Housing Authority, and tenants who participate in it circumvent the years-long waiting list that

most housing authority applicants must endure.Yolanda Rivera, the director of the Banana KellyCommunity Improvement Association in the Bronx,says the delayed Section Eight money is a burden forstruggling nonprofits. "If it was a few hundred dollars,nobody would blink, bu t when it gets to the hundredsan d thousands, it gets to be something else," she says.Adds Bill Lipton, a housing coordinator at the UrbanHomesteading Assistance Board, which providestechnical assistance for tenant-owned buildings,"Repairs are put off. There's a considerable strain on theoperating budget."Faith Williams has felt that strain. The manager of a12-unit low income cooperative on 148th Street,Williams says she waited eight months before shereceived Section Eight payments for seven of thebuilding'S 12 tenants. "The money was spent before wegot it," she says of the $7,300 check that finally arrivedin August.Williams says HPD officials told her that paperworkwas holding up the processing. But she thinks thatexcuse is inadequate, noting that many tenants completed the Section Eight forms when the building wasstill owned by the city, long before it was sold to thetenants. Why was a new round of the same paperworkrequired later on? she asks. "There should just be atransfer of documents within the system," she says."The city is computerized. This is ridiculous."

Frank Spain, director of operations for HPD's Division of Rehabilitation Finance, acknowledges that theinitial Section Eight payment can be delayed anywherefrom four weeks to four months or more, "depending onhow shorthanded we are at the time and how muchcooperation we're getting from all of the people participating in the process."That participation is crucial, says Julio Torres, director of housing management for the East New YorkUrban Youth Corps. Torres says that tenants sometimesfail to apply for Section Eight or don't submit thecorrect information that HPD needs.Jose Acuna, the director of the housing division forPromesa, a drug rehabilitation and housing agency inthe Bronx, says he expects a six-month wait beforeSection Eight kicks in for about half of the tenants inthree buildings turned over to his agency by the city lastDecember. Ideally, he says, Section Eight should beavailable when the tenants move in. "Why not have theSection Eight already in place?" he asks, voicing C!common refrain.Additional delays may be caused by a cumbersomeinspection process that critics say often duplicateswork already done by other employees of the housingdepartment. Officials at the Ecumenical CommunityDevelopment Organization in Harlem says they havehad Section Eight payments held up while waiting forHPD inspectors to look at newly rehabilitated units.Yet, they note, other HPD officials ha d inspected andapproved the same units months before. "It's sort ofcrazy that I have to wait for another inspector," saysKatie Hanner from ECDO.Some attribute the problems to staff shortages at thehousing department. "There's a human factor in all ofthis," says Rivera from Banana Kelly. "With cutbacks,everyone's affected. Everybody's doing three, four, fivejobs." The housing department' s staffhas been reducedby 16 percent, from 4,358 in Jllne 1991 to 3,679 inNovember 1992, according to spokesperson CassandraVernon.But others say the problems ru n deeper. One nonprofit housingmanager who requestedanonymity notedthat HPD should really stand for Hundred s of PeopleDisoriented. "There are too many chiefs and not enoughIndians," says the manager.

Not surprisingly, Spain from HPD refutes this charge,and explains that building managers should not expectto get their Section Eight money until all the appropriate documents are submitted and approved.As for duplication, Spain says federal laws requireinspectors to ensure housing quality standards aremaintained. And even i f an HPD inspector signs off onan apartment rehabilitation before tenants move in, asecond inspection for those housing standards mustoccur before Section Eight payments can be authorized."You can't base a certification on an inspection thattook place six months ago," he says. "It may seemfrustrating to owners, bu t there are very good reasons."D Elaine landoll



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ownlown ronx,Planners and politicians are seeking community input

on aSouth Bronx development plan.Are they sincere or is it just public relations1

BY MARGARET MITTELBACHO Third Avenue, the people that city plannersare now calling the "retail power of the SouthBronx" carry shopping bags heavy with newsneakers, Walkmen radios and fresh linens .Though "The Hub's" flagship retailer,Alexander's department store, closed down last June,dozens of other businesses vie on what may be one of thecity's most competitive streets. Here, even the hot dogssell at a discount, going for 95 cents each, a nickel belowthe standard Manhattan price tag.Just one block east, however, the parade of materialwealth comes to a jarring halt. Giving way to the flatdreariness of abandoned lots, the South Bronx transformsinto exactlywhat outsidersexpect-an almost-horizonlesssea of urban decay. Though progress has been made sinceJimmy Carter declared the South Bronx an urban war zonein the 1970s, this once-prosperous area remains a disturbing mixture of strengths an d weaknesses, beauty an dblight.Plans for a South Bronx renaissance-one that wouldreach far beyond the massive, city-subsidized rehabilitation of low income housing that has taken place duringthe last five years-have floated around developmentcircles for years. But now those plans have a forum wherei s /MARCH 1993/Crrv UMITS

local people, including community advocates, educatorsan d business owners, can meetwith citywide civic grou pspoliticians an d planners in an attempt to fuse old development plans with the interests of the people who live andwork in the community.That forum is being provided by the Bronx CenterSteering Committee, appointed last spring by BoroughPresident Fernando Ferrer. It's a diverse group of moversand shakers that has been holding public hearings andwriting advisory reports for the borough president, who isse t to publish a full-fledged development plan for a downtown business district known as "Bronx Center." The firstofficial report on the plan is due ou t this month."Bronx Center will be a social service, educationalcultural. and economic core," says Richard Kahan, thechair of the steering committee and president of the UrbanAssembly. "We're thinking of this almost as a state omind."But some local residents are wary. The Bronx is not thefirst urban area to embrace such a "state of mind" to lureinvestment and foster growth. Other downtown revitalizations, relying heavily on publicly-subsidized real estate investment, have been tried with varying degrees ofsuccess in cities ranging from Los Angeles to Pittsburghand in New York City neighborhoods like downtownBrooklyn, Long Island City and Jamaica, Queens (see City


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Limits, December 1992). In many cases these projects havenot addressed the needs of people that lived in thecommunity before the work began.As Mary Brown, a resident of 165th Street, explains,ne w buildings are not high on her list of priorities. "Weneed to see the safety improved, something for the homeless, something done about the drugs, and something donefor the youth," she argues. "There's no place for them to goan d nothing for them to do."Fury to Skepticism to HopeIt's been the job of the steering committee to win overskeptics like Brown and gain local support for development. To this end, the committee has organized dozens ofcommunity hearings in the area since last spring, withresponses ranging from fury toskepticism to hope.

West Side compromise between Donald Trump and communitygroups over Riverside South. Kahan's appointmenby Ferrer has inspired some optimism about the steerincommittee's intentions from one-time skeptics likDeRienzo."Ferrer took a real political risk appointing this bodbecause he said, 'Here's the concept-take it out to thcommunity,'" says DeRienzo. "He's got to respect thprocess and the process says, real jobs for real people, reajob training, inclusion in the housing process and nwholesale displacement just because it makes development easier."But when DeRienzo went out into the neighborhood tmoderate many of the community meetings, he ended ubeing the lightening rod for bitterness an d mistrust. "Mjob was to stimulate discussion," sayDeRienzo. "If people got angry, goodThey should be angry."he committee brings together a mixture of people. Members include BruceRatner of Forest City Ratner Companies,the developer of downtown Brooklyn's

Metrotech and Atlantic Center; DoreenFrasca, a managing director of MerrillLynch, and Harry DeRienzo, a local resident and veteran housing activist whoheads the Consumer Farmer Foundation. Otherparticipants come from goodgovernment groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council and the ParksCouncil, and there are also executives

"It's easy to buildon a vacant lot.

International MetaphorLike it or not, the South Bronx is ainternational metaphor for urban decay. In France they have a phrase, C'esquai, ce Bronx? Literally, it means"What is this Bronx?" Figuratively,means "What a mess!"What can you do

for a family onpoverty?" The decline of the area is a familiastory, the result of arson, abandonmenwhite flight, the construction of expressways an d the dynamics of real estatspeculation. Yet the South Bronx haretained a vibrancy and diversity ofterendered invisible by its bad reputafrom Hostos Community College, theNew York Yankees, the Regional PlanAssociation and Sloan 's Supermarkets.H. Claude Shostol of the Regional Plan Associationdescribes the committee's mission like this: "Development projects in the Bronx are scattered, they'reuncoordinated, they haven't moved forward. The idea isto get a critical mass of people to knit them together, to getpeople excited, so that each budget battle doesn't have tobe fought by itself."Overseeing the committee is Kahan, a Municipal ArtsSocietyboard member who has achieved renown-respectfrom some, derision from others-for brokering the Upper

tion. The ravaged lots that drew politicians and international journalists to the South Bronx now house everything from single-family homes to shanties, from shopping malls to chicken coops.More an d more, politicians an d planners recognize thuntapped economic strengths of the South Bronx, mosnotably the buying power of its half-million residents, thvalue ofland perched just above Manhattan, and the areahistorical value and potential for touri sm.The area includes an array of venerable institutions



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Yankee Stadium, Lin-coln Hospital, HostosCollege, the once-grandCriminal Courts Building and the now-defunctBronx Opera Companyhouse. On the map, it isbounded by East 147thStreet, the Harlem River,East 165th Street and St.Ann's Avenue.

burdens. The neighborhood is very poor-morethan one-third of its halfmillion residents are onpublic assistance . Andit is dangerous-localpeople are almost twiceas like ly to die of AIDSthree times as likely todie of drug dependency,and more than twice aslikely to be murdered asthe average New YorkCity resident.What is notclear is whether real es-...."', ........ ""' tate development will

At the heart of he newdevelopment plan are anumber of smallerprojects that alreadyhave won investmentcommitments of morethan $1 billion. BronxCenter planners say thatthe trickle-down fromthese publicly financedreal estate projects willCommons Concerns: Plans for Melrose Commons call for mostly middleincome housing. which will displace current residents.

attract the social servicesor economic injectionthe area so desperatelyrequires.During the commu-bring jobs, business, and a wide array of social servicesinto the community. Construction projects already in thepipeline include: A one-million-square-foot, $122 million SupremeCourt building planned for Sheridan Avenue and East161st Street. A $240 million police academy that will become thecity's central training facility, replacing the existingGramercy Park academy . A $30 million makeover for The Hub retail district'smain subway station at 149th Street. The controversial $200 million Melrose Commonshousing redevelopment project for mostly middle incomefamilies. (See City Limits, January 1991and February 1992).In concept-and that is what Bronx

nity hearings, peopleproduced a laundry list of services they would like to seemore of in the South Bronx-including health care, housing, more police protection, better schools , job development and youth programs. They also asked the steeringcommittee whether the "downtown" would be built overthe community or into it. While architects and plannerssay that "downtown revitalizations" are good for "urbanplaces," South Bronx residents wanted to know whetherBronx Center would be good for people.The planners insist that it will be. "We are now askinghow the local community can share the wealth," saysZimmermann. "We want to make sure that i f we developphysically that the design will support the community,that these are not just introverted buildings ."But some residents wonder whetherCenter primarily is at this point-theplanning project is nothing new. Theidea for a downtown Bronx was firstconceived eight years agoby the Bronxoffice of the Department of CityPlanning, headed by BerndZimmermann, who is now Ferrer'schief planner. The concept was alsoendorsed in 1990 in "New Directionsfor the Bronx," a report issued jointlyby Ferrer's office and the Regional PlanAssociation.

Planners recognizethe untapped

an emphasis on "design" should be atop priority for the South Bronx."These people coming in, the architects and planners ,have never workedin a low-income community before.They have no idea what they're dealing with," says Bronx housing an dhomesteading advocate Matthew Lee."It's easy to build on a vacant lot. Whatcan you do for a family living in poverty?"

.economICstrength of theSouth Bronx.

Zimmermann's emphasis at the timewas on importing middle income residents to the community. As he ex-plained to City Limits in 1989, Melrose Commons wouldbe "catalytic" because it "would bring in a better incomegroup, a better socia-economic balance. We'll be buildingfrom strength," he said.Not surprisingly, the emphasis on a "better incomegroup" did not go down too well when the Bronx CenterSteering Committee took the idea to current South Bronxresidents. But whether community concerns can changethe plan remains to be seen.Sharing the Wealth?

Clearly, the people of the South Bronx bear heavy20/MARCH 1993/CITY UMns

Melrose CommonsThe proposal for Melrose Commonsis a case in point, critics say. The siteis 36 acres stretching from 156th to 163rd streets betweenPark and St. Ann's avenues, just north ofThe Hub an d justwest of a new moderate-income townhouse developmentcalled Melrose Court.Though this blighted area is 60 percent abandoned, it isotherwise dotted with churches, vegetable gardens, scoresof small businesses, and hundreds of homes. For yearsnow, Melrose residents have faced the threat of displacement to make room for homes they could never themselves afford.The Melrose Commons plan calls for 3,000 new condominiums and 750 rehabilitated apartments in city-owned


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buildings. Seventy-eight Criticism-And Hopehouseholds with more Despite such efforts tothan 350 residents and 80 forge consensus, Bronbusinesses with nearly Center still faces seriou500 employees are slated hurdles, one being thato be displaced. Even the South Bronx is still more galling, a minimum dumping ground for notof 80 percent of all the in-my-backyard projectnew housing was planned that more affluent comfor middleincome house- munities won't acceptholds making three to five Most recently, the citytimes the average income broke ground on a newof South Bronx commu- juvenile detention facilnity residents. ity to replace the belea"We don 't need hous- guered Spofford Juveniling that 's going to move Center in Hunts Pointus out and other folks in," The new youth jail is insays Melrose resident the center of the historiMarty Rogers. "We have Hub shopping district, debeen destabilized by fire, spite the protests of loca~ o t enough police protec- Old and New: The old Bronx court house is still derelict, but funds have been business owners and thhon, drugs, and loss of allocated for a new $122 million state Supreme Court building. Bronx Boroughbusinesses. The people President's office.who are still here are the ones who have stuck it out, and And while critics are focusing on Melrose Commonswe can't afford to lose those people." many communi ty residents have pu t forward all kinds oThe Melrose Commons plan is part of a broader urban proposals they would like incorporated in the Bronrenewal plan that is already awaiting certification at the Center plan-everything from a public law and sciencDepartment of City Planning. Once that happens , it will library housed in the police academy, to "the artful use otravel through ,the city's marathon, seven-month Uniform street lights" and the hiring of local construction workerLand Use Review Process, commonly known as ULURP, for any major developments.before construction work can begin. ULURP includes Though they hope to be proven wrong, some say they'vreview by the community board, then the borough-wide heard these requests for years and haven't seen resultsplanning board, th e borough "I'vebeen here for 14 years, and we'rpresident's office, the City Planning still trying to demolish the samCommission and finally the City bridge, " says Community Board FouCouncil. District Manager, Herbert Samuel

But community residents aren't "The people who who helped organize the Bronx Cenawaiting certification before demand- ter forum in his district. "There's ningparticipationin the development are still here are the doubt in my mind that the Bronplan. The Consumer Farmer Foun- Center planning process is a goodation and the Banana Kelly ones who have faith effort. Will it happen the way wcommunitygroup have assigned two want? No. I have tO"say I'm a cynic.organizers to inform local people t k t t d Others disagree. Bronx businesabout the plan. And a community S liC 1 Ol i , an we leaders remain especially optimistimeeting in Februarybroughttogether can't afford to lose and are among Bronx Center's greatmore than 70 angry residents est boosters. "The Bronx went to thdemanding changes. th 1" edge. It even went over the edge, buSome steering committee mem- ose peop e. it didn't go into the pit-despitewhabers say they 've heard the criticisms, people think," says Ed Birdie, thand that they would like the devel- public affairs an d government relaopment plan revised to include more tions advisor to the Bronx Chambelow income people and to prevent of Commerce. "And that's becausdisplacement of current residents. Kahan says: "We are the people ofthe Bronx wouldn't le t it happen. If renewavery anxious that Melrose Commons go ahead as quickly succeeds here, it can succeed anywhere."as possible-provided it is of a reasonable density anddisplacement is limited or eliminated. We want to en d upwith the type of community that people want, and to makesure that the economic benefits flow directly into thepeople of the Bronx."I f the borough president's preliminary Bronx Centerreport incorporates these concerns, it will be a clear signthat community input, via the steering committee, ishaving an impact. I fnot, Ferrer will be open to charges thatthe steering committee is merely providing windowdressing for done deals.

The JewelThe Hub was once the Bronx's shining jewel, and oldtimers wistfully remember when black and white movieplayed in its theaters and the Third Avenue El rattleoverhead. The difference between the memories and thcurrent reality is as jarring as the split between the interests of some community residents and those of the development advocates . Reconciliation ofthe differences is thprofessed goal of Bronx Center. Its proof will be in thplan. 0



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By Barbara Fedders

Getting Their ACT TogetherAgenda for Children Tomorrow is trying to tame thecity's monstrous social service bureaucracy.Aadolescent boy tries to enrollin an after-school programbu t gets turned away becausehe has high grades an d theprogram accepts only "low achieving" students.A woman leaves her abusivehusband-but she has to quit her lowpaying but steady job because mostbattered women's shelters can onlyhouse women on welfare.A mother an d her four childrenshuttle between scores of socialservices offices, most of them far awayfrom their neighborhood, visiting asmany as 50 social workers a weekbu t none have enough time to reallyhelp the family. .New York's labyrinthine networkof social services-known to many assimply "the system"- i s notorious forcreating as many problems as it solves.But a new initiative known as Agendafor Children Tomorrow (ACT) is trying to tame the bureaucraticbehemothby coordinating services within neighborhoods and boosting communityinvolvement in planning."We want to simplify the system,to makegovernmentmore responsive,more accessible and easier to use,"says Eric Brettschneider , the directorof the project, which is backed byfoundations an d operates from theMayor's Office of Children ,andFamilies.ACT is the fulfillment of a pledgeby Mayor David Dinkins, who vowedin 1990 to make social service reforma priority. Ever-cautious, the mayorfollowed his promise with a prediction: that lasting change was not likelyduring his a dministration.But some skeptics wonder i f lasting change will ever result from"service coordination."As one Brooklyn-based children's advocate puts it,"The real issue is not better coordination of services-it's getting moremoney for more services."Still, more money is hard to find ina cash-strapped city, and ACT is nowup and running and making someprogress. The project has publishedvoluminous profiles of 10 low incomecommunities, with a complete listingof each area's social service organiza-22/MARCH 1993/CITY UMITS

tions, as well as economic development and housing opportunities. Theprofiles are meant to help residentsand communityleaders identify whereservices are needed-and illuminateways to bring them to the community.New Neighborhood PlannersTo speed that process, ACT nowhas two neighborhooq-based planners,one for Bushwick in Brooklyn andanother for Mott Haven in the SouthBronx, and funding is available for

"We want tosimplify the

system."

one more. Brettschneider hopes toeventually get enough funds to hireplanners in each of the 10 communities.Decision-making for ACT comesfrom a six-member board of directorsthat includes city officials an d representatives of nonprofit groups likeAlianza Dominicana and the Foundation for Child Development. There'salso a larger, 50-member oversightgroup. The project's $400,000 startup budget comes from the New YorkCommunity Trust, the United Wayan d a raft of other foundations andcorporations. The city is chipping inwith an office and technical support.Dale Joseph, a recent graduate fromColumbia University's planningschool, is the new neighborhood planne r in Bushwick. She ticks off herplans: "ACT can provide data to thecommunity organizations, help themto identify the gaps, and start the process of getting more of whatever isnecessary." What that is, exactly, "willdepend on what the communitywants."

Joseph and the second planner,

Ellen Goolsby, plan to develop collectives that include community residents an d members of social servicegroups. The idea, explainsBrettschneider, is that the plannerwill provide a liaison to City Hall thasmall community groups don't have"This will not be advocating againsthe tide just to get attention," he says"I t will be strategic planning that isconnected to the sources of power."Bringing planners into the community to implement reform distinguishes ACT from earlier city-sponsored efforts at reform, which merelyplopped down an additional city office into low income communitiesAnd the planners are meant to serveas catalysts for community involvement. "ACT is inclusive and participatory-and really focuses on thefamilies," stresses Gale Nayowith, amember of the ACT advisory boardwho heads the Citizens Committee forChildren.Working from this perspectiveBrettschneider keeps a framed prinof the Golden Rule-"Do unto othersas you would have done unto you"above his desk. "In the name of helping," he says, "social service providers have instead intruded in people'lives." ACT hopes to change that.A Major Obstacle: SkepticismBut it will take more than community cooperation to make the projecwork. The ACT collaborative has toovercome obstacles like funding shortages and pervasive skepticism abouthe possibilities for bureaucratic reform.Some of the hurdles ACT faces arealready clear because there'sa similaservice coordination project, theBushwick Geographic Targeting TaskForce, already operating in the neighborhood.The task force was funded by theNew York Community Trust to bringtogether elec ted officials, communityorganizers, staff from social servicegroups and local people to coordinateplanning and maximize availablefunding dollars. Says John Alvarezthe task force director, "The idea wasto avoidhavingalot of different groupsapplying for direct-line funding.which can create a situation wherenonprofits are competing with eachother to the possible detriment of thecommunity."The difficulty, Alvarez says, ismaking the coalition work. "Peopleperceive you as an outsider, it's diffi-


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cult to get people to trustyou. Often [the taskforcel feels like ParkAvenue meetsKnickerbocker Avenue," he says, referringto a Bushwick thoroughfare.

treat to start collaborative planning, which included training on howto use the profiles.Bold Enough?At this point, thgroundwork has beelaid and the ACT staseems well-intentioneddemocratically inclinedand City Hall-connected. Yet questionremain about whetheg ACT is big enough obold enough to reall

(! ) change "the system."

Sister Betty Nickels ,who provides room andboard for homelessyoung women in a ramshackle converted barand grill on CorneliaStreet, says she believesthe idea behind the taskforce is good, but she,for one, "hasn't seen anynew money. No onehas--exceptperhapstheprofessional consultants ."

Many people wondeWell Connected-..f:DL..:..:al";";ec..:..,o:;";sliLep..Jlhl:.:.a-i-m-'s!....to-s-t-re-n-gt-h-en-tie-s-b-e-tw-e-e-n-a...JgenLJcl... e . . . : s ~ a n : . . . d - - - - I whether ACT isn't justprograms seIVing Bushwick and to link them with City Hall. sophisticated smoke

Nickels runs a program known asTOPS for You, which stands for Time,Opportunity, Peace and Service.Women pay $45 pe r week for roomand board and the program also provides counseling and referrals. Withonly one government grant, Nickelsdeals with a minimum of red t ape-bu t she fears the ne w coordinationprograms could mean that "publicfunding may get further bogged downin a new bureaucracy. Fundingshouldn't be held back from theagencies doing the work," she says.Poor Coord ination?This concern raises the question ofhow tw o coordinating projects,managed to set up shop in the exactsame neighborho

City Limits Magazine, March 1993 Issue

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